stiff leg deads

[fqqs]

i did today 225 x 10 for 4 sets of stiff leg deads (back arched, going just below knee) for the first time and i did feel it only in lower back and forearms. during descent i pushed my butt back and had small bent in knees. but still i didnt feel hammies at all ;/

now ive read that for stiff leg deads (when you want to work your hammies, not lower back) it is more important to keep the bar as clos to the body as possible during entire lift and also keep the wieght on your heels. i tried to keep the bar very close but it wasnt touching me all the time. also i didnt remember if i kept weight only on my heels, or whole feet


what should i consider when doing stiff leg deads for hamstrings?

 

[Ezskanken]

Try placing a 5lb plate at the ball of each foot. It will force you to pull with your posterior chain, and stretch the tightness out at the same time. Soon enough you won't need the little plates there and you can go about it normally...

 

[hypo_glycemic]

I always pre exhaust w/ deads..,Pulled my IT band using them as a primary lift.. I do them last so I can go lighter and be ready for movement.

 

[Testoman98]

i did today 225 x 10 for 4 sets of stiff leg deads (back arched, going just below knee) for the first time and i did feel it only in lower back and forearms. during descent i pushed my butt back and had small bent in knees. but still i didnt feel hammies at all ;/

now ive read that for stiff leg deads (when you want to work your hammies, not lower back) it is more important to keep the bar as clos to the body as possible during entire lift and also keep the wieght on your heels. i tried to keep the bar very close but it wasnt touching me all the time. also i didnt remember if i kept weight only on my heels, or whole feet


what should i consider when doing stiff leg deads for hamstrings?

Maybe its just me, but I do mine the exact opposite. I do go slightly passed knee level, but I keep my back straight and allow the bar to go away from my body. I dont actually push the bar out but when you stick your butt out, it'll seem like the bar is moving, but its your lower body. So the bar will start against my thighs and end up over my toes. Then the motion I concentrate on is pushing my butt out, while keeping my back straight as the bar comes down, then squeezing the hammys & glutes on the way up, making sure not to pull with my back.

 

[bjg]

i just don't do these often , especially not with 225 lbs! i do hamstrings with leg curl machine.
anyways that is a lot of weight for such an exercise. Your knees MUST be bent a little especially on the way down.
Don't push the bar away from you keep it close , back straight not rounded at all (butt out), go down below knee level as soon as you feel a stretch in hamstrings. grip width slightly wider than shoulders just slightly

 

[Usealittle]

Try placing a 5lb plate at the ball of each foot. It will force you to pull with your posterior chain, and stretch the tightness out at the same time. Soon enough you won't need the little plates there and you can go about it normally...

^^^^ I thought I was the only 1 how did that. I use 25s under the toes.

Also if the back hurts from doin stiffleged deads 2 things.
1. Make sure you keep the bar as close to the shins and quads as possable. Every inch away from your body that the bar is multiples the amount of strain on the back.
2. Only goes down as far as the hips will rotate. Check this by turning your body to the side, with the mirror to 1side of you not infront of you and preform the movement while lookin in the mirror. As you go down keep the back straight and once you see the lower back start to round stop the down word motion and start back up. Now with that there's 2things you can do with that. Just preform the movement to that point, or start stretching the hips witch will fix the problems.

Sorry that got kinda long....

 

[SloppyJ]

I agree with doing them at the end of the workout. I get a much better workout on my back by sacrificing some weight by doing them last.

 

[sassy69]

I do a lot of visualization on these & chest to make sure I'm really hitting the right stuff & not jacking my back. I know I'm doing them right if my shins are getting shredded. Really annoying but its when things are working right. I also find I have to concentrate (visualization again) to not pitch forward. Lots of focusing on my hips/hams being the "lever".

If you're not feeling it right, another way to get familiar w/ the feeling is to go w/ dumbbells to get the motion. And these you can actually kick out over your toes fairly easily to get even more of a feel of the muscles being engaged.

 

[Ezskanken]

Try using DB's for a bit to get a "feel" for the full ROM. Through my experience, holding the DB's at a 45* angle in my hands helps out tremendously for me, instead of holding them straight as if you were holding a bar.

 

[bigbenj]

I did them last week, for the first time, with 225, and I could just feel my hammies wanting to rip apart.

Legs stiff, arch your back, hold the bar in front of you like you're going to shrug, shoulders loose, and just bend over until you're parallel to the floor, lift back up, and repeat.

 

[Cork]

It's funny how you can go through the exact motion, but not feel it. The mind-muscle connection can be a finicky beast. I used to have the same problem with this lift. I didn't start to get it until I really learned how to squat and dead lift and engage the posterior chain. I would advise just a simple test to see if you can recruit the glute/hams properly.

Lay down on your back and do a glute bridge. How high up can you go? Can you do it one legged effectively? You might need to learn how to engage. A good indicator of how well you can recruit your posterior chain is if you think a normal dead lift is a back lift or a leg lift. Most people who can recruit the posterior chain correctly see deads as a leg lift, and the opposite group see's it as a back lift.

 

[fatsopower]

I just got back from the gym where I did sl Dedz off the platform - I'm of the old skool nutz that believe that SL dedz are the only Dedz where you can round your back - I also end the session doing just from the floor up about 1 and 1/2 foot range of motion which really hits the hammies and glutes - but maybe that's just me....
just my 2c fwiw

 

[fqqs]

i'll put some plates under my toes and see what happen

 

[HeavyBomber]

i did today 225 x 10 for 4 sets of stiff leg deads (back arched, going just below knee) for the first time and i did feel it only in lower back and forearms. during descent i pushed my butt back and had small bent in knees. but still i didnt feel hammies at all ;/

now ive read that for stiff leg deads (when you want to work your hammies, not lower back) it is more important to keep the bar as clos to the body as possible during entire lift and also keep the wieght on your heels. i tried to keep the bar very close but it wasnt touching me all the time. also i didnt remember if i kept weight only on my heels, or whole feet


what should i consider when doing stiff leg deads for hamstrings?

If your back was arched and you were bending at the hips then rest assured your hams and glutes were moving the weight. Your lower back is a weak link, that's all. Don't worry about it and keep doing them.